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Travel in Space
Here are rules to help adjudicate travel in space, specifically travel of an hour or more. This material builds on the travel rules in the Player’s Handbook and the Dungeon Master’s Guide. Travel Pace Ships travel at a speed given their stat blocks. Unlike with land travel, players can’t choose to move at a faster pace, though they can choose to go slower. If a ship’s mode of movement takes damage, it might be slowed. For every decrease of 10 feet in speed, reduce the ship’s pace by 1 mile per hour and 24 miles per day. Activity While Traveling The activities available to a ship’s crew and passengers are a bit different from the options available to a group traveling by land. Refer to “Activity While Traveling” in chapter 8 of the Player’s Handbook for more information on some of the topics discussed below. A number of activities are restricted to certain officers, unless the DM rules otherwise. For example, a bard might be allowed to engage in the raise morale activity by playing bawdy songs on deck to lift the crew’s spirits. The party’s pace has no effect on the activities they can engage in while traveling by ship. Stellar Survey A ship’s navigator often undertakes this activity, producing a map that records the ship’s progress and helps the crew get back on course if they get lost. No ability check is required. Raise Morale (Ship's Counselor Only) The ship's counselor can manage the crew’s time to grant extended breaks, provide instruction, and improve morale. Once per day, if the crew’s quality score is 3 or lower, the ship's counselor can make a DC 15 Charisma (Persuasion) check. On a successful check, the crew’s quality score increases by 1. Navigate (Navigator Only) The navigator can try to prevent the group from becoming lost, making a Wisdom (Navigation) check when the DM calls for it. (See “Becoming Lost” in chapter 5 of the Dungeon Master’s Guide for more information.) Noticing Threats Use the passive Wisdom (Perception) score of the characters or the crew to determine whether anyone on the ship notices a hidden threat. The crew has a passive Wisdom (Perception) score equal to 10 + the crew’s quality score. The DM might decide that a threat can be noticed only by characters in a specific area of the ship. For example, only characters below deck might have a chance to hear or spot a creature hiding on board. Repair (Chief Engineer Only) The ship’s chief engineer can undertake this activity. At the end of the day, the chief engineer can make an Intelligence (engineering) check. On a 15 or higher, each damaged component regains hit points equal to 1d6 + the crew’s quality score (minimum of 1 hit point). A component other than the hull that had 0 hit points becomes functional again. Stealth (Captain Only) The ship’s captain can engage in this activity only if conditions restrict visibility, such as in a nebula or an asteroid field. The ship makes a Dexterity check with a bonus equal to the crew’s quality score to determine if it can hide. Alternatively, a ship equipped with a cloaking device can always engage in stealth. Hazards Hazards come in two basic types: environmental hazards, such as storms or turbulent waters, and other events, such as a fire aboard the ship or a plague outbreak. Environmental Hazards Asteroids choke the orbital path of an uncharted planet. Ion storms threaten to disable ships. Nebulas choke the engines of ships that are not prepared for such a journey. These are all examples of environmental hazards that can last for days and demand a crew’s attention. Each day a ship spends involved in a hazard requires the officers to each make a special ability check, as shown on the Hazard Checks table. This check takes the place of any other activities that the officer might undertake and represents the officer’s contribution to keeping the ship afloat. Hazard Checks Officer Check Helmsman Intelligence (space vehicles) Captain Charisma (Persuasion) Engineer Intelligence (Engineering) Navigator Wisdom (Navigation) Chief Medical Officer Intelligence (Medicine) Cook Constitution (cook’s utensils) If there is no one available to make a check, treat the result as a 0. Finally, roll a d20 for the crew, using its quality score as a modifier to the roll. Add up all of these checks and then refer to the Hazard Check Results table. That table shows if the ship has met with disaster or success in surviving that day of the hazard. Hazard Check Results Check Total Result 140+ Great Success. The crew’s quality score increases by 1 for 1d4 days. 105–139 Success. The ship survives unscathed. 70–104 Partial Disaster. Each component takes 4d10 bludgeoning damage. The crew’s quality score is reduced by 1. The ship struggles, moving at half speed that day. 0–69 Disaster. The ship’s components each take 10d10 bludgeoning damage. The crew’s quality score drops by 2, as several members of the crew are washed overboard and lost. The ship is blown off course and struggles to recover its bearings, failing to cover any distance that day. If you want to add variety to hazards, consider including some interesting complications. For example, a whirlpool might drag a ship to the Elemental Plane of Water on a disaster result, with the ship avoiding the vortex on any other result. You can also add or subtract to the success thresholds in the Hazard Check Results table to reflect a hazard’s danger. If you decide to do so, increase or decrease a threshold by 35. Other Events The hazards below serve as examples of what can go wrong on a ship. Each one requires a different officer to spend a day dealing with the hazard instead of engaging in other activity. As a rule of thumb, there is a 10 percent chance each day that one of the following events occurs. Ion Storm. The navigator must manage to chart an electromagnetic storm without allowing the ship to become lost or destroyed. The navigator must make a DC 15 Wisdom (navigation) check. On a failed check, the ship’s hull takes 4d10 electrical damage and the ship ends up off course and struggles to recover its bearings, failing to cover any distance that day. On a successful check, the navigator's maneuvering keeps the ship out of harm. Emergency Maneuvers The helm must react quickly to avoid a sudden threat. A gravitational anomaly passes by the ship, threatening to damage it in its wake, or the ship is about to crash into an asteroid or piece of space debris. The helmsman must make a DC 15 Intelligence (space vehicles) check. On a failed check, the ship’s hull takes 8d10 bludgeoning damage. On a successful check, the helmsman's quick maneuvering keeps the ship out of harm. Bad News If bad news arrives, the communication officer's activity that day must be spent making a DC 15 Charisma (Persuasion) check to break the news to the crew. On a failed check, the crew’s quality score decreases by 1d4. Conflict Life in space is a mixture of monotony, hard work, and sudden moments of terror. The stress can wear on the stoutest Starfleet officer. Sometimes, that stress turns into conflict among the crew. If this happens, the ship's counselor's activity that day must be spent making a DC 15 Charisma (Persuasion) check to counsel the crew. On a failed check, the crew’s quality score decreases by 1d4. EPS Conduit Overload An EPS conduit overload can render a ship unable to function. Pick a random component. It takes damage unless the chief engineer succeeds on an Intelligence (engineering) check. Table: Component Damaged Table: Overload DC & Damage Disease An illness sweeps through the ranks. The chief medical officer must make a Wisdom (Medicine) check. On a failed check, the crew’s by 5 for . Infestation. Tribbles infest the ship, threatening its food stores. The cook must make a DC 15 Constitution (brewer’s supplies) check to save what food they can. On a failed check, the crew has disadvantage on any checks involving its quality score until the ship has a chance to restock supplies.